Door-operating apparatus.



` A. GUTTSCHALK. DOR OPERATING APPARATUS.

MPLICA'HON FILED FEB.1.1913.

Patented Jan. 18, 19H3,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1- I I NVE NTO R hw JUTHT A. UOTTSCHALK.

DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS. 'APPLICA'HUN FILED FEB,1.:913.

A. GOTTSCHALK.

oooR OPERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.1.19I3. p Lwmh ,Immed Jan. 15, 19m

f Rif I IWI ' A. GOTTSCHALK.

DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l. 1913.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

-F'IGJE Oneof the objects `of my present inven' motor when the door encounters an obstruc.

ALBERT GOTTSCHALK, OF NEW YORK; N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL PNEU'MATIO COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

DOOR-OPERATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

Application led February 1, 1913. Serial No. 745,587.

for operating doors, and is particularly y adaptedk 'for use in connection with car doors such as employed on subway, elevated, and suburban railway ears, where the guard or lmotorman may be positioned at some distance from the doors which must be opened and closed at each station or stop "for, the

discharge and loading of passengers. Where the doors are located at some distance from the guard, as the 'center side doors of a car in which the guard or operator is at the end of thecar, it is sometimes diicult Ifor. the operator to see clearly whether or. not

the door is free to be closed, and it is important to provide a safety means for automatically preventing injuryto a person4 in ease one. should be struck or caught by the door during its closing movement.

tion isto provide improved means for automatically relieving the vpressure from the tion during its closing movement, as when a person is caught in the door; another object is.to automatically reverse the movement of the door; another object is to prevent the slamming or very rapid movement of the door incase it is temporarily forciblyv held.stationary against the action of the fluid pressure, during its traverse; and another object is to Aprovide means operating automatically to eiect an application of the brakes upon the car when the door encounters a person or other obstruction dur ing its closing movement.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of my moj tor apparatus and showing means for auto- .281 and 28".

of the rotary valveA seat; Figs. 6, A"l", Aand 8,

diagrams showing the rotary valve upon its seat in its three respective positions; Fig. 9, a view illustrating one form of vent valve adapted to be' operated by a yielding strip mounted on the jamb of' the car door; Fig.

,10, an enlarged view of the vent valve indicated in -Fig. 9; Fig. l1, a diagrammatic view of a modification including an electro- -magnet for actuating the vent valve; Fig. 12,

a diagrammatic view of another modification illustrating a Adifferent form of vent valve device operated by a yielding strip mounted on the car door; Fig. 13, a side view of a car door showing a modified form of yielding strip construction; and Fig. 14, a diagrammatic view of a vent valve device operated by the yielding strip construction shown in Fig. 13.

According to the construction shown in the drawings, the motor apparatus for opi erating the door comprises a long cylinder,v I

8, containing a piston having two opposite heads, 9, connected by a rod or rack bar, 10, 'carrying teeth, 11, meshing with the segmental gear, 12, on shaft, 1 3, of the rock.

arm, 14, which may` be connected in any suitable and well known manner for actuating the door. For controlling the supply f fluid pressure to the opposite ends of the cylinder, a rotary valve, l5, is mounted on a seat, 16, within a casing, 17, and has a stem, 18, with an arm, 19, for actuating the same. The supply of fluid, suchas compressed air, is admitted by pipe, 20, ports,

21 and 22, into the valve chamber, the valve also being provided with a cavity, 23, communicating with port, 22, and other cavities, In the valve seat are formed large ports, 24 and 25, communicating with opposite ends of the cylinder, 8, restricted ports, 24l1 and 251, communicatinglrespectively with ports', 24 and 25, and large eX- f haust ports r29 and 29d, and restricted eX- v117,' and, provided with lugs, 36, engaging the valvpi lever, 19. Ports. Y3ll and 32 leadinglos door, the rack bar, 34, and one piston head,

33, are moved to the left, and air or other fluid under pressure is admitted through port, 24, to one end of -cylinder,8, where it acts upon the piston, 9, forcing the same to the right, and turning the door operating arm, 14, to the closed position, as shown in Fig. 1. During this movement, the'opposite end of the cylinder, 8, is open to the atmosphere tlirough,port,.25, cavity,`28a, and the restricted exhaust port, 28', thereby exerting a cushioning-effect upon-thepiston. As

v.the piston reaches the end of its traverse,

the port, l32,\is opened, thereby admitting fluid tothe valve shifting cylinder, 30, where it -operates to move, the piston head, 33, and rackbar, 34, back to the-middle Vposition i shownin Fig. 2. This also operates through the gear, 35, and lever, 19, to turn the' valve, 15, back to its normal lap or closed position,

illustrated in Fig.. 7. By turning the-rotary v alvelto the position indicated ini-Fig. 8, a -similar operation of the apparatus in the` oppostedireotion is produced for opening the door. lAs. thus far. described the construction is substantially the same as that shown and described in my prior pending applications Ser. No. 519,432, filed September 24, 1909, and Ser. No. 677,766, filed February l5, 1912.

During the closing movement, the door is sometimes 'temporarily' held stationary or nearly so, either by a person taking hold of the door, or by the door or mechanism sticking, and during this time, a ,high pressure accumulates upon the motor, which is liable to slam the doorA very hard when released or when the friction is overcome. In

order to prevent this undesirable condition, I may-provide a restricted port through .which fluid may be' admitted very slowly to the opposite end ofthe main cylinder, 8, when the piston, 9, -is moving toward that end. The size of such restricted port must necessarily-.be so small as to notv materially7 retard the movements of the motor and the 'door under normal conditions, but when the dooris temporarily held stationary, a suflicient pressure may accumulate upon the opposite end of piston, 9, even with the restricted exhaust port open at the same time,

to prevent a violent and dangerous movement of the door when it is released. As vshown in the drawings, the ports, 90a and 90", in the rotary valve, 15, andthe ports,

90c and 90d, in the seat, communicating respectively; with ports, 24 and 25, are proy vided for this purpose. When the rotary valve is in its'closing position, Fig. 6, at the sametime that fluid is being admitted through ports, 24a 'and 24, to the left hand end of cylinder, 8, to move the piston, 9, to

close the door, fluid is alsodmitted very d a slowly' through therestricte 1 rts,\90a, 90d, and 25 to' the opposite end of cylinder, 8. This pressure willnot materially retard the movement of the motor and door under normal conditions, -as the restricted exhaust l port, 29h, is open at the same time, but it the door should betemporarily held stationary,

so that a'high-pressure' is accumulated, there will then be sufficient pressure accumulated in the opposite end of cylinder, 8, to prevent a violent slamming of the door whenv released. 'This pressure may also serve' to cause a reverse movement of the motor when a relief valve device is employed for ex-, hausting fluid from the closing end'of thel motor, lwhen the door is obstructed during itsclosing movement. Ports, b, and 90, in the'rotary valve and seat perform a like 'function when the valve is set in its opening position, Fig. 8, for actuating the motor to open .the door. According to another featureof my present invention, I provide an improved -safety device for preventing injury to persons Iaccidentally caught in the. door when. closing, and as shown in the drawings, one form of such a device comprises a yielding strip, 38,

1n Figs. l and 9, in such a manner that when a person or other object is caught between the. door and the jamb, the yieldingstrip, 38, is depressed, and acting through rod, 39,l and stem, 4l, unseats auxiliary valve, 40, which controls the operation of valve devices for4 relieving the pressure from the closing end of the motor, for reversing the movement of the motor, and for causing an ap- `plicationbit the brakes upon .the car, any

one or more of which valve devices may be employed as desired. The device for-Arelieving the pressure from the closing efnd of 1 the vmotor may. comprise a valve, 64, 'for opening communication from the closing end of cylinder, 8, and port', 72, to the discharge pf-rt,65, saidvalve being normally held` closed by the fluid pressure and a spring, 68, and having a stem operated by a "piston, 62, in a cylindrical chamber, 61. to A.

which is connected the pipe, 60, controlled by the auxiliary valve 40. The valve, 40, is normally held seated by means of a spring, 42, and the tluid pressure in the supply pipe back of the valve, but'when the valve is openedby the movement-of the strip, 38, fluid under pressure flows through pipe, 60, to chamber, 61. where it acts upon piston, 62, and opens thedischarge valve, 64.` The 100 mounted upon the door jamb, as indicated .actuated by a piston,

, caught.

size of the discharge opening is sufficient to permit a rapid reduction in pressure in the cylinder, 8, 'even if the fluid continues to lbe supplied to the cylinder through the re'- stricted inlet port, 24a, of the rotary valve, and the door may then be pushed toward its open position if the door lever isiat such an angle as permits of this action. lVhen the obstruction is withdrawn from the door, and the valve,40, closesythe pressure in chamber, 61, immediately escapes around the stem, 41, and the valve, 64, closes. The apparatus Ithen resumesv its closing operation automatically as the pressure continues to be admitted through the'inlet port, 24, to the cylinder, 8.

In some cases, particularly where the door operating lever occupies a horizontalposition, when the door is closed, it is desirable to positively reverse the movement of the motor when a person is caught in the door at the time of closing, and for this purpose, 1 maypro'vide a valve, 78, controlling communication from supply pipe, 20, and passage, 8'2, to the passage, 81, leading to the opposite end of cylinder, 8, said valve being seated by a spring, 79, and having a stein 77, in chamber, 75, which may be supplied with fluid under pr essure through pipe, 60, and passage, 76, when the auxiliary valve, 40, is opened. valve, 80, is located in the inlet passa-ge or port, 8l, for preventing the escape of pressure from the main cylinder, 8. Vhen the auxiliary valve, 40, is opened, the iuidacting on piston, 77, opens the. valve, 78, and admits fluid from the supply, 20, into the opposite end of the cylinder, 8, Where it acts on piston, 9, and reverses its movement, thus moving the door away from the person As soon as the supply through the auxiliary vali e, 40, is closed the valve, 78, automatically closes as the pressure then readily escapes around the piston, 77, and out at port, 83.

For the purpose of effecting an application of the brakes upon the car .and thereby preventing the same from moving at the time that a person is caught in the door, and the auxiliary valve, 40, is opened, a valve, 46, may7 be employed for controlling a vent port, 45, and be actuated by a piston, 43, in a chamber, 44, communicating with the supply passage, 76. The valve, 46, may control the train brake pipe pressure directly, or may serve as a pilot valve for governing the pressure acting on piston, 51, in chamber,`

49, which pistonis attached to the main vent valve, 50, for discharging air from the train brake pipe, 53, in order to eifect an application of the automatic brake upon the car in the well known manner.V 'Air under pressure in the train pipe, 53, which is normally charged to the desired standard degree, equalizes around the piston, 51, for which A check y purpose there may be a small perforation through the piston, and together with the force of the spring, 52, holds the valve, 50, normally tightly closed upon its seat. Valve, 46, is also held closed by this pressure which communicates therewith through passage, 48, a light spring, 47, being also employed if desired. lt will-now be apparent that whenever the auxiliar)v valve, 40, is opened by ai person being `caught in the door, the valve, 46, will be opened by the piston, 43, thereby venting the pressure fronn the back of the piston, 51, and opening the valve, 50. r1`he train pipe pressure is then suddenly discharged to the atmosphere causing the brakes to be applied upon the car according to the well known automatic action of the brake system. T his feature of my improve it will be understood that they may be mounted in separate casings, if preferred, and be connected up with suitable pipe. con-- nections. l

Various modifications of this feature of` my improvement in which the brakes are caused t0 be applied upon the car when the car door encounters an obstruction in cl0s` ing, may be made, as shown for instance .in Figs. 9 to 14, ofthe drawings.

According to the construction show n in Figs. 9 and 10, the yielding strip, 38, may bev pivotally mounted'on the jamb of the door, 55, and operate when compressed by`a person being caught in the door, to unseat the valve, 40, which vents air directly from the train brake pipe, 53, to the atmosphere and causes an application of the brakes upon the car. Or, as shown in Fig. .11, the yielding strip may operate to close an electric switch, 38, and energize a magnet, 39a, for opening,

I vthe vent valve, 40, in the train brake pipe.

Another construction is shown in Fig. 12, in whichthe yielding strip, 56, is mounted on the car door, 55, by means of links, 5T. A lever, 39a, pivoted above the door has one arm extending in such position as to be engaged and actuated by the upward thrust of the strip, 56, and the other end of the lever`is adapted to engage the stem of the pilot valve, 46a, for opening same and causing the openingv of the train pipe discharge valve, 50, as before described. l

According to the modiiication shown in Figs. 18 and 14, the movable strip, 56, onthe door is pivotally vmounted on bell crank' levers, '57, connected to a vertical rod, 58, which operates to partially rotate a longitudinal rod, 59, movable with the door and sliding through a square opening in a lever arm, 84, as the door moves. The lever` arm, 84, is connected by a link, 85, With a lever,

.86, which operates the pilot valve, 46h, forv causing the opening of the train p ipe discharge valve, 49. lVhen the yielding strip, 56, is depressed by the door encountering a person or obstruction during its closing movement, the bell crank levers, 57, act to elevate the rod, 58, against the pressure of a spring, and through the connection with rod, 59, the latter is partially rotated, thus turning the levers, 84 and 86, and opening the pilot valve, 46h. vCompressed air from the train pipe, 53, is then discharged to the atmosphere by the opening of the vent valve, 49, for causing an application of the brakes as before described. It will be evident that any of these modified yielding strip constructions may also be used to operate the auxiliary valve, 40, if desired.

Having now described my invention, what I 'claim as newl and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a door operating apparatus, the combination with the door and a fluid pressure motor for actuating the same'upon a car, ot

means operated by an object being forced against the door jamb, for controlling said motor and'causing an application of the car brakes.

2. In a door operating apparatus, the

vcombination With .a car door and a. motor for actuating the same, of a door j amb having a yielding strip, and means operated by the movement of said strip for controlling said motor and causing an application ot' the brakes upon the car.

3. In a door operating apparatus, the combination with a door and a fluid pressure motor for actuating sameyof a mainvallve for controlling the pressure acting on said motor, an auxiliary valve governing said main valve, and means operated by an obstruction being caught in the door when closing, I'or actuating said auxiliary valve.

4. In a door operating apparatus, the combination with a door and a fluid pressure motor for actuating same, of valve mechanism for'reversing the action of said motor, an auxiliary valve controlling said valve mechanism, and means operated byl an obstruction being caught in the door .when closing, for actuating said auxiliary valve.

5. ln a door operating apparatus, the cornbination with a door and a fluid pressure motorv for actuating same, of a valve mechanism for controlling the pressure acting on said motor-'and for causing an application of the brakes, an auxiliary valve governing said valve mechanism, and means operated by anrobstruction being caught in the door whenv closing, valve.

6. In a door operating apparatus, the combination with 'a door and a fluid pressure for actuating said auxiliary be applied. f

motor for actuating saine, of avalve mechanism for causing an application vof the brakes, an auxiliary valve governing said valve mechanism, and means operated by an obstruction being caught in the door `When closing, for actuating said auxiliary valve,

T. In a door operating apparatus,1the combination with a door and a fluid pressure motor for actuating same, of valve mechanism for reversing theaction of said motor, an auxiliary valve controlling said valve mechanism, and a yielding 'strip adapted to- Abe engaged by an obstruction in the doorway, foractuating said auxiliary valve.

8. In .aldoor operating apparatus, the combination With a door and a fluid pressureV motor for actuating same, of a valve mechanism for controlling the .pressure acting on said motor and for causing an application lof the brakes, an auxiliary valve governing said valve mechanism, and a yielding strip adaptedK to, be engaged tli doorway, for actuatingsaid auxiliary va ve.

bination with a car door and a motor for actuating same, of means operated by an obstruction being caught 1n the door When 9. In a door'operating apparatus, the com- .I

by an obstruction in I closing for causing an application of the for causing the operation-of said valve.

11. In a door operating apparatus, the" combination with a car door and a motor for actuating same, of a train brake pipe, and meansy operated by an obstruction being caught in the door When closing, fluid from said pipe to cause the brakeslto '12. In a door operating apparatus, the combination with a car door and a motor for actuating same, of a yielding stripadapted to be engaged by an obstruction in the doorway, and means governed by the movement of said strip for effecting an application of the brakes upon the car.

13. In a door operating apparatus, the

for venting .a

combination with acar door and a motor for actuating same, of a door jamb having a yielding strip, and means governed by the movement of said strip for effecting an application of the brakes upon the car.

14. Ina door operating apparatus, the combination With a car door and a motor for actuating same, of a train brake pipe, a

yielding .strip adapted to be depressed by an obstruction caught in the door when closing,

and means governed by the movement of said -strip for venting fluid from said pipe.

15. In a door operating apparatus, the combination With a car door and a motor for actuating same, of a train brake pipe, a vent valvedevice therefor, a pilot valve for controlling the vent valve, and a yielding strip adapted to be depressed by an obstruction caught 'in the door When closing, for operating said pilot valve.

16. ln a door operating apparatus, the combination With a car door and a motor for actuating the same, of a train brake pipe, a vent valve device therefor, a pilot valve for controlling the vent valve, a piston for actuating the pilot valve, an auxiliary valve for controlling the fluid pressure acting on said 17. 1n adoor operating apparatus, the

5 combination with a car door and a motor for actuating the same, of means operating' automatically upon the arrest oi the door during the closing movement, for causing an application of the brakesupon the car.

ALBERT GOTTSCHALK. Witnesses:

`THOMAS, J. BYRNE,.

A. SCOTT FOWLER. 

